Science views: Solving economic depression and danger abroad

J. David Cohen lives on Cornell Road in Danvers. He is a retired professional engineer, license 30246, who worked at General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn for 45 years.

David Cohen/Energy Matters

Can such a crisis be solved? Can it be paid for? Many critics have said that our children and grandchildren will pay the price with higher taxes and a poor future economy. One best guess solution involves “pump priming” the economy. This is known as Keynesian economics, a theory that was first promoted by famed British economist John Maynard Keynes in 1936.

Such a crisis existed in the 1930s. The world was in the midst of the great depression with high unemployment. War was imminent as Germany and Japan were gearing up for a second worldwide conflict.

The world plunged into war in 1939 with the US entering the conflict in late 1941. Money was no object. Our country had to go for it at any cost. We developed and produced weapons plus the materials and supplies of war at an industrial pace unprecedented in our history. In addition, our civilian population bought into it by investing in war bonds at an enormous rate allowing the government to pay for it all with domestic debt. How did that happen? Where did the money come from? The answer is very simple. We had full employment except for the severely handicapped. A huge military establishment was created. Millions of women entered the work force. We had a 48-hour workweek. Industry ran for 24 and 7. We needed a huge work force and our own people provided it. We actually came out of the war wealthier and stronger than ever. The depression was over. There was abundant money for the GI Bill and for the Marshall Plan that rebuilt our friends and enemies alike. Quoting Secretary of State (and former General) George C. Marshall in 1947: “The whole world of the future hangs on a proper judgment. What is needed? What can best be done? What will be done?”

Looking back on our own history, we can make the argument that full employment solved the problem. Is it really that simple? Can we gain full employment and repeat history? Why not?

The answer is to employ Americans by the hundreds of thousands or millions. Turn up industry for full output. We can do this in the energy sector. We must do it in the energy sector, because our economy needs the energy and we must produce it domestically and as quickly as possible. We need a domestic Marshall plan with clear objectives, a timetable, and a roadmap to success. Failure is not an allowable option. We require strong, knowledgeable leadership and a minimum risk approach alongside of higher risk options.

What about our military establishment? There is no sector of our economy that needs energy more than does our military. If we are to maintain our military superiority, we must provide the military all the energy it requires or lose our effectiveness.

In the next two to three decades we will still need natural and/or synthetic petroleum sources for domestic use and the military establishment. Our Air Forces will need them forever, because there is no substitute “green energy” source for flight.

We also must create a “green energy” infrastructure for the entire 21st century. That will lead us to the utopia of clean electricity and a hydrogen society.

J. David Cohen lives on Cornell Road in Danvers. He is a retired professional engineer, license 30246, who worked at General Electric Aircraft Engines in Lynn for 45 years.